OGaming: What makes Real Time Worlds, a bunch of guys from Scotland, so qualified to simulate life in the 'hood?

Stephen Hewitt : We hang in hoods all the time – the weather's really crappy here. We like rain gear. We spend most of our lives in hoods.

We also get all your TV and films, so probably know as much about the archetypes (if not the details) as anybody. And just as everybody here wears tartan all the time and eats nothing but haggis, we know that every street in America is actually bristling with weaponry, and is right in the middle of a massive gang war, even as we speak.

But actually, it's the archetypes we're interested in with APB – we're interested in the essence of 'gang-ness:' shared identity, ganging up, and playing in groups. As much as American gang culture will be the backbone of what we're attempting, at least thematically – because that's what people will expect – we want APB to explore gangs as a more universal theme. So yes to hip-hop, but also yes to the Mafia, the Yakuza, Goths or Punks, if that's your bag. But no to a posse of kilt-wearing Govan lads in hoody tops carrying 'flick claymores' shouting the following:

"Yo, fit-like dawg?"
"Nae bad, ya bammer, jus' hangin wie me possie, like, ye ken."
"Can I chorey yer pimped ride for a bottle o' Ginger and a jammy piece?"
"Aye, but dinnie touch ma hoe."
"Aw yer awright there, Angus, like: I dinnie dae gardening."

Unless you really push the system.

Besides, clan warfare goes way back, and our team is incredibly multi-cultural.